History FranchiseOriginalSin / WesternAnimation

** One the most frequent criticisms is despite the show's open liberal bias, the show is reliant on offensive {{stereotype}}s to the point of downright racism. Of course the show has always had them but in earlier seasons nearly all of the stereotypes mocked the idea of stereotypes far more than it did the minorities they represented. It was such a successful formula that many of the stereotypical characters were [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales widely praised by the minorities they depict]]. However over the years the writers seem to have gotten the idea that this means people like having their ethnicity and sexuality mocked and that he can indulge in racial humor and still come off as progressive. More and more recurring characters are intended to by sympathetic despite being increasingly [[EthnicScrappy flanderised stereotypes.]] This also hasn't gelled well with the show's [[WarOnStraw increased use straw characters about religious people and conservatives]], since the show depicts those stereotypes as being true. The resulting implications that the writers genuinely believe non-strait non-white people only behave a certain way has driven many fans away.

* ''ComicStrip/Popeye'' has a reputation for being StrictlyFormula because of the color shorts made by Famous Studios, which overused the plot everyone associates with Popeye (him and Bluto fighting over Olive Oyl and Popeye eating Spinach to defeat Bluto). While Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer invented that plot and made use of it, the cartoons made by the Fleischers were much more varied in their stories overall. Many shorts lacked spinach, Bluto or both, many more short featured Popeye and Bluto doing things besides fighting over Olive Oyl, and others still featured characters like Wimpy, Swee'Pea, Poopdeck Pappy and Eugene the Jeep to do different kinds of stories.

* ''ComicStrip/Popeye'' has a reputation for being StrictlyFormula because of the color shorts made by Famous Studios, which overused the plot everyone associates with Popeye (him and Bluto fighting over Olive Oyl and Popeye eating Spinach to defeat Bluto). While Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer invented that plot and made use of it, the cartoons made by the Fleischers were much more varied in their stories overall. Many shorts lacked spinach, Bluto or both, many more short featured Popeye and Bluto doing things besides fighting over Olive Oyl, and others still featured Wimpy, Swee'Pea, Poopdeck Pappy and Eugene the Jeep to do different kinds of stories.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Princess Bubblegum's darker side was emphasized as early as Season 3, with her creation of Lemongrab being something akin to a MadScientist creation. It was well received, giving some more depth to her character. Later seasons, however, are criticised for taking this dark side and taking it to borderline sociopathic levels, with the "Bubblegum calling a bunch of wizards idiots for believing in magic" scene being TheLastStraw for many. Seaonson 7 received praise for addressing this problem through a story line in which Bubblegum's behavior ends up [[spoiler:getting her dethroned temporarily]]

** Back when it started, the series was revolutionary when compared to [[OlderThanTheyThink other]] cynical shows centered on a dysfunctional family because it was an animated show set in ComicBookTime ''and'' with NegativeContinuity. The family could go anywhere, interact with anyone, and do anything without having to care about budget constraints, actors that wanted to leave or children that grew up. However, after 20 years that original strength has turned into its biggest constraint. Bart and Lisa [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour behave like teenagers]], but they are [[NotAllowedToGrowUp still 10 and 8 and go to the same elementary school]], so the writers can't make them face the actual teenage (or [[LongRunners young adult]]) problems they would be dealing with by now if the show was live-acted or used WebcomicTime; Marge and Homer have gone through countless marriage crises and been thrown into jail countless times, but they have to go back home together at the end; Maggie feels more like a prop than a character in most episodes because the writers can't think of new plotlines starring a baby, etc. As a result, the show has become stalled and boring.

** The CouchGag was one of the show's most beloved elements from the start for providing new jokes and weird imagery, but on occasion, as early as Season 4, it was used to stretch a rather light episode out. In particular, the "circus" couch gag was explicitly created to pad the runtime, being twenty-three seconds (not counting the rest of the opening), and showing up in a total of eight episodes. One episode (which, to be fair, was a ClipShow) played ''twelve'' couch gags in succession, including the circus gag, taking up a whole minute of screentime. The thing was, back then, long couch gags were rare; aside from the above two and not counting the changed credits for ''Treehouse of Horror'', not one CouchGag in the first eight seasons went over fifteen seconds, and most lasted about four. It was, after all, a ''gag'' -- a quick joke. By the later seasons, though, long couch gags started to show up [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3u3x3d more and more often]], with the show breaking its own record multiple times, and post-Season 20 or so, a twenty-three-second couch gag likely wouldn't even be in the top half. The show even turned the gag into something of a [[DancingBear publicity stunt,]] doing things like hiring other animators or making [[WereStillRelevantDammit extended references to other shows airing]]. Making things even worse was the shift to a four-act structure and episodes getting noticeably shorter in runtime to squeeze in more ads, meaning that on top of being longer, the extended couch gags were now eating up larger portions of the episodes. It's estimated that some episodes would, with their opening sequences removed, be about six minutes shorter than their older counterparts.

** Many people dislike the show's recent tendency to focus heavily on liberal social/political issues. Thing is, the show had episodes like this back in the Golden Age episodes, like "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E5LisaTheVegetarian Lisa the Vegetarian]]" and "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E15HomersPhobia Homer's Phobia]]". The main difference is, in the older episodes it felt as if the writers truly cared about the issues in question, and in episodes such as "The Cartridge Family" and "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge", [[BothSidesHaveAPoint would present the whole thing as at least a bit nuanced.]] Nowadays, it seems like the show only cares about liberal issues to appear progressive and frequently [[DontShootTheMessage ends up bungling that]] (including a notorious episode where Homer becomes a gay marriage minister, which indulges gay stereotypes heavily and ends with a {{transgender}} woman being humiliatingly outed).
** The blog Dead Homers Society [[https://deadhomersociety.com/zombiesimpsons/zs7/ argues]] that the show's decline began in earnest [[https://deadhomersociety.com/zombiesimpsons/zs8/ as early as Seasons 7-8]], generally considered part of the show's GoldenAge. Due to several circumstances, from the show's popularity and exhaustion of fresh storylines to turnover on the writing staff, the show began more frequently incorporating the same hoary sitcom tropes and cliches that, until then, it eschewed or mocked. Examples cited include ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E11MargeBeNotProud Marge Be Not Proud]]'', a VerySpecialEpisode with more hamfisted emotion and character beats than similar, previous episodes; ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E4BurnsBabyBurns Burns, Baby, Burns]]'' which both incorporates a guest star (Creator/RodneyDangerfield, in this case) who is poorly integrated into the show's world and features an absurdly convoluted scheme by Homer to resolve the plot; ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E14TheItchyAndScratchyAndPoochieShow The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show]]'', which began the writers' habit of [[TakeThatAudience sniping at critical fans]]; and, more generally, an increase in wacky sitcom stories complete with broad humor, exaggerated characterizations, and over-the-top action scenes (not only that, but action scenes without either believable peril or compelling stakes). These flaws were usually held in check and the seasons remain mostly solid, but it's clear that the faults ascribed to Mike Scully's tenure as showrunner (which began in Season Nine) were already present in abundance.

** A common complaint about modern day episodes is the tendency to overhype regular episodes as huge specials. This trend started back during seasons 2 and 3 of the show, which is often considered to be during the show's golden age, with episodes such as [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS3E11PartyPooperPants "Party Pooper Pants"]] (which would have been standard length were it not for the [[{{Padding}} Patchy segments]]) and [[Recap/SpongebobSquarepantsS2E33ShanghaiedGaryTakesABath "Shanghaied"]] (whose [[MultipleEndings gimmick]] only worked the very first time it aired). It wasn't until the first such "special" to air after TheMovie, [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS4E20BestDayEverTheGiftOfGum "Best Day Ever"]], that fans started complaining, as it took a 24 hour marathon of the most beloved episodes of the series, as well as the movie, to advertise an ''11 minute episode'' that quickly became hated.
** The show's oft-criticized descent into [[GrossOutShow gross-out humor]] and GettingCrapPastTheRadar started as early as season 2, with [[Recap/SpongeBobSquarePantsS2E2SomethingSmellsBossyBoots "Something Smells"]] revolving entirely around the joke that [=SpongeBob's=] breath stinks and he doesn't realize it. Typically though, it would be limited to one or two {{Cutaway Gag}}s per episode, whereas later seasons feature ''whole episodes'' centered around [[Recap/SpongebobSquarepantsS6E5TheSplinterSlideWhistleStooges SpongeBob getting a splinter]] or [[Recap/SpongebobSquarepantsS5E3RiseandShineWaitingFungusAmongUs contracting a fungal infection]]. Many have pointed out how the main problem stemmed from the writers attempting to emulate the style of episodes from Stephen Hillenburg's first tenure as showrunner without proper knowledge as to how he was able to make it work.

** Early in the show's run, Patrick's idiocy made him one of the most beloved characters due to his lines and antics being witty, endearing, or ending up with hilarious reactions from other characters. Unfortunately, later on, his idiocy ended up focusing more on how much he screwed up, resulting in reactions and idiocy that would drag on and end up feeling cruel to whomever experienced his antics, with him comming off as a {{Jerkass}} and getting little comeuppance for screwing other characters over for little reason. As a result, his reputation did a complete 180 and he became [[TheScrappy one of the most hated characters on the show]].
** Some of the more abrasive humour of the later seasons was already coming into play as early as the Second Season, however mostly only to the level of giving the show a sharper more frenetic energy compared to the downright mean spiritedness of the post-Movie seasons. Spongebob had already started to become more obnoxious and hyperactive, though the consequences of his actions were kept carefully in check to keep him sympathetic (e.g. while he aggravates Squidward and Mrs Puff in early episodes, a lot of their worst misfortunes are brought upon themselves taking extremes to get rid of him, while in later episodes he genuinely just singlehandedly makes their lives miserable in his stupidity). Sandy had also become far more standoffish and arrogant by the second season, though given her initial overly positive characterisation, this was only really taken to the point of giving her some level of vices so she could contribute better to the humour and become an endearingly flawed character like the others.

** Just about everyone and their mother points fingers at Scrappy-Doo -- the [[FearlessFool overconfident]] [[KidAppealCharacter ankle-biter]] who always threw himself InHarmsWay -- as [[TheScrappy one of the all-time worst characters on TV]]. The thing is, Scrappy's debut gave the show some of its highest ratings and are credited with saving it from cancellation. WebVideo/InsideAMind [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fdQS-rjsnk posits]] that the problem was not Scrappy himself, but how he was utilized. Things were fine when the core of the show was still intact, but struggles keeping a consistent cast together led the show-runners to decide that since Scrappy was such a hit, they could use him to trim the fat, so to speak, cutting Velma, Daphne, and Fred (seen as the less memorable members of the gang) and have him take over for them. This meant that Scrappy was [[CompositeCharacter the one found clues, got kidnapped, and set the traps,]] which not only clashed with his stated characterization, but made Scooby and Shaggy seem even more bumbling. Not helping matters were some even more questionable {{retool}}s, such having the gang encounter real monsters and pairing Scrappy with cowboy-themed {{Suspiciously Similar Substitute}}s of Scooby and Shaggy. All in all, Scrappy was pushed front-and-center into a show [[DorkAge that was losing its way]] and never meant to be his. At that point, further retooling to get things back on track wasn't enough to save the original run of ''Scooby-Doo'', and Scrappy's infamous reputation sticks with him to this day.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' and ''Franchise/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' became criticized for how many villains and bullies get EasilyForgiven. The trend started at the end of the two-part pilot, where Princess Luna was immediately forgiven for trying to bring TheNightThatNeverEnds on the world. The difference is that such an act could be filed as CartoonishSupervillainy (which also applied to Discord turning Equestria into a WorldGoneMad), Luna herself was acting under the control of her SuperpoweredEvilSide, and she had a [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds sympathetic enough backstory]] to grant her EnsembleDarkhorse status, making it easier to overlook the cast instantly forgiving her. Most later examples were guilty of far more realistic crimes and voluntarily committed misdeeds (Diamond Tiara was a [[KidsAreCruel cruel]], [[AlphaBitch snooty bully]], Starlight Glimmer ran a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything dictatorship-inspired cult]] devoted to [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill squelching individuality]] and created multiple {{Bad Future}}s in her attempt to get revenge for the Mane Six destroying said cult, Juniper Montage tried to sabotage a film production because she wanted to be the star and [[NeverMyFault later attacked those she deemed responsible for it failing]]) and had, at best, a last minute FreudianExcuse that tended to make them UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. [[https://twitter.com/ishiH3Art/status/1017125609305042944 Even director Ishi Rudell bemoaned this trend.]] The G1 series ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'' and its TV specials also had this issue to varying degrees. The main difference is the way the reforming villains actually showed some sign of decency beforehand, from misgivings that grow over the course of the story to outright hating the BigBad and planning to jump ship at the first opportunity. Compare to the way the most-hated FIM examples will never think twice about what they're doing until they get defeated, say "I never had any friends" to the main cast, and with no further ado, everyone loves each other now.

** The strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional flashback or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show early on since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast fairly small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show continued and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was sometimes ''very'' intentional) and important recurring characters who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite dramatic) character development. For instance Jasper undergoes drastic SanitySlippage after un-fusing from Malachite, Lapis goes from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamond Hit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend and even getting some ShipTease with her in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, and Lars [[TookALevelInBadass becomes more brave and competent]] to the point of stealing a Gem ship in-between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'', [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot huge changes never really explored in any depth]].

* While fans of ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'' have [[BrokenBase many different ideas]] about what caused its SeasonalRot, the show's increasing reliance on extended over-the-top {{Imagine Spot}}s is sometimes held up as a symptom of its declining quality, as it increasingly shifted the focus away from the simple day-to-day struggles of the toddlers. In truth, though, the show was ''always'' known for its surreal and fantastical overtones -- but in its early days, the toddlers didn't ''need'' {{Imagine Spot}}s to make their world seem like a bizarre wonderland, because the quirky writing and animation made the entire setting seem surreal; the {{Imagine Spot}}s just drew a clear line between the mundane world and the world of the kids' imaginations, where none had existed before. Case in point: compare Season 2's "Toy Palace" with Season 6's "Submarine". The former revolves around the [[HilarityEnsues ensuing hilarity]] when Tommy and Chuckie spend the night in a sprawling toy store that (apparently) includes life-size robotic gorilla toys, automated Old West towns, and ''a working time machine''; the later just has the kids pretending that a van at a car lot is a submarine.

** One the most frequent criticisms is despite the show's open liberal bias, the show is reliant on offensive {{stereotype}}s to the point of downright racism. Of course the show has always had them but in earlier seasons nearly all of the stereotypes mocked the idea of stereotypes far more than it did the minorities they represented. It was such a successful formula that many of the stereotypical characters were [[MexicansLoveSpeedyGonzales widely praised by the minorities they depict]]. However over the years Creator/SethMacFarlane seems to have gotten the idea that this means people like having their ethnicity and sexuality mocked and that he can indulge in racial humor and still come off as progressive. More and more recurring characters are intended to by sympathetic despite being increasingly [[EthnicScrappy flanderised stereotypes.]] This also hasn't gelled well with the show's [[WarOnStraw increased use straw characters about religious people and conservatives]], since the show depicts those stereotypes as being true. The resulting implications that the writers genuinely believe non-strait non-white people only behave a certain way has driven many fans away.

** The strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional flashback or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show early on since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast fairly small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show continued and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was sometimes ''very'' intentional) and important recurring characters who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite dramatic) character development. For instance Jasper undergoes drastic SanitySlippage after un-fusing from Malachite, Lapis goes from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamond Hit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend and even getting some ShipTease with her in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, and Lars [[TookALevelInBadass becomes more brave and competent]] to the point of stealing a Gem ship in-between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'', [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot huge changes massive really explored in any depth]].

** The blog Dead Homers Society [[https://deadhomersociety.com/zombiesimpsons/zs7/ argues]] that the show's decline began in earnest [[https://deadhomersociety.com/zombiesimpsons/zs8/ as early as Seasons 7-8]], generally considered part of the show's GoldenAge. Due to several circumstances, from the show's popularity and exhaustion of fresh storylines to turnover on the writing staff and the death of voice actors Doris Grau and Phil Hartman, the show began more frequently incorporating the same hoary sitcom tropes and cliches that, until then, it eschewed or mocked. Examples cited include ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E11MargeBeNotProud Marge Be Not Proud]]'', a VerySpecialEpisode with more hamfisted emotion and character beats than similar, previous episodes; ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E4BurnsBabyBurns Burns, Baby, Burns]]'' which both incorporates a guest star (Creator/RodneyDangerfield, in this case) who is poorly integrated into the show's world and features an absurdly convoluted scheme by Homer to resolve the plot; ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E14TheItchyAndScratchyAndPoochieShow The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show]]'', which began the writers' habit of [[TakeThatAudience sniping at critical fans]]; and, more generally, an increase in wacky sitcom stories complete with broad humor, exaggerated characterizations, and over-the-top action scenes (not only that, but action scenes without either believable peril or compelling stakes). These flaws were usually held in check and the seasons remain mostly solid, but it's clear that the faults ascribed to Mike Scully's tenure as showrunner (which began in Season Nine) were already present in abundance.

** The strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional flashback or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show early on since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast fairly small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show continued and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was sometimes ''very'' intentional) and important recurring characters who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite dramatic) character development. For instance Jasper undergoes drastic SanitySlippage after un-fusing from Malachite, Lapis goes from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamond Hit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend and even getting some ShipTease with her in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, and Lars [[TookALevelInBadass becomes more brave and competent]] to the point of stealing a Gem ship in-between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'', [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot without these changes really explored in any depth]].

** The strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional flashback or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show early on since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast fairly small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show continued and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was sometimes ''very'' intentional) and important recurring characters who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite dramatic) character development. For instance Jasper undergoes drastic SanitySlippage after un-fusing from Malachite, Lapis goes from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamond Hit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend and even getting some ShipTease with her in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, and Lars [[TookALevelInBadass becomes more brave and competent]] to the point of stealing a Gem ship in-between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'', without these changes really explored in any depth.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' and ''Franchise/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' became criticized for how many villains and bullies get EasilyForgiven. The trend started at the end of the two-part pilot, where Princess Luna was immediately forgiven for trying to bring TheNightThatNeverEnds on the world. The difference is that such an act could be filed as CartoonishSupervillainy (which also applied to Discord turning Equestria into a WorldGoneMad), Luna herself was acting under the control of her SuperpoweredEvilSide, and she had a [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds sympathetic enough backstory]] to grant her EnsembleDarkhorse status, making it easier to overlook the cast instantly forgiving her. Most later examples were guilty of far more realistic crimes and voluntarily committed misdeeds (Diamond Tiara was a [[KidsAreCruel cruel]], [[AlphaBitch snooty bully]], Starlight Glimmer ran a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything dictatorship-inspired cult]] devoted to [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill squelching individuality]] and created multiple {{Bad Future}}s in her attempt to get revenge for the Mane Six destroying said cult, Juniper Montage tried to sabotage a film production because she wanted to be the star) and had, at best, a last minute FreudianExcuse that tended to make them UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. [[https://twitter.com/ishiH3Art/status/1017125609305042944 Even director Ishi Rudell bemoaned this trend.]] The G1 series ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'' and its TV specials also had this issue to varying degrees. The main difference is the way the reforming villains actually showed some sign of decency beforehand, from misgivings that grow over the course of the story to outright hating the BigBad and planning to jump ship at the first opportunity. Compare to the way the most-hated FIM examples will never think twice about what they're doing until they get defeated, say "I never had any friends" to the main cast, and with no further ado, everyone loves each other now.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' and ''Franchise/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls'' became criticized for how many villains and bullies get EasilyForgiven. The trend started at the end of the two-part pilot, where Princess Luna was immediately forgiven for trying to bring TheNightThatNeverEnds on the world. The difference is that such an act could be filed as CartoonishSupervillainy (which also applied to Discord turning Equestria into a WorldGoneMad), Luna herself was acting under the control of her SuperpoweredEvilSide, and she had a [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds sympathetic enough backstory]] to grant her EnsembleDarkhorse status, making it easier to overlook the cast instantly forgiving her. Most later examples were guilty of far more realistic crimes and voluntarily committed misdeeds (Diamond Tiara was a [[KidsAreCruel cruel]], [[AlphaBitch snooty bully]], Starlight Glimmer ran a [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything dictatorship-inspired cult]] devoted to [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill squelching individuality]] and created multiple {{Bad Future}}s in her attempt to get revenge for the Mane Six destroying said cult) and had, at best, a last minute FreudianExcuse that tended to make them UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. [[https://twitter.com/ishiH3Art/status/1017125609305042944 Even director Ishi Rudell bemoaned this trend.]] The G1 series ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends'' and its TV specials also had this issue to varying degrees. The main difference is the way the reforming villains actually showed some sign of decency beforehand, from misgivings that grow over the course of the story to outright hating the BigBad and planning to jump ship at the first opportunity. Compare to the way the most-hated FIM examples will never think twice about what they're doing, say "I never had any friends", and with no further ado, everyone loves each other now.

** The strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional flashback or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show early on since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast fairly small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show continued and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was sometimes ''very'' intentional) and with important recurring characters who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite dramatic) character development while off-screen. For instance Jasper undergoes drastic SanitySlippage after un-fusing from Malachite, Lapis goes from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamond Hit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend and even getting some ShipTease with her in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, and Lars [[TookALevelInBadass becomes more brave and competent]] to the point of stealing a Gem ship in-between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'', without these changes really explored in any depth.

** The series' strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional flashback episode or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show early on since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast fairly small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show went along and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as sometimes hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was ''very'' intentional) and with important recurring characters (Jasper, Lapis Lazuli and Lars in particular) who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite dramatic) character development while off-screen. For instance Lapis goes from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamond Hit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend and even getting some ShipTease with her in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, and Lars [[TookALevelInBadass becoming more brave and competent]] to the point of stealing a Gem ship in-between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'', without these changes really explored in any depth.

** The blog Dead Homers Society [[https://deadhomersociety.com/zombiesimpsons/zs7/ argues]] that the show's decline began in earnest [[https://deadhomersociety.com/zombiesimpsons/zs8/ as early as Seasons 7-8]], still generally considered part of the show's GoldenAge. Due to several circumstances, from the show's popularity and simple exhaustion of fresh storylines to turnover on the writing staff and the death of voice actors Doris Grau and Phil Hartman, the show began more frequently incorporating the same hoary sitcom tropes and cliches that, until then, it generally eschewed or mocked. Examples cited include ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E11MargeBeNotProud Marge Be Not Proud]]'', a VerySpecialEpisode with more hamfisted emotion and character beats than similar, previous episodes; ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E4BurnsBabyBurns Burns, Baby, Burns]]'' which both incorporates a guest star (Creator/RodneyDangerfield, in this case) who is poorly integrated into the show's world and features an absurdly convoluted scheme by Homer to resolve the plot; ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E14TheItchyAndScratchyAndPoochieShow The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show]]'', which began the writers' habit of [[TakeThatAudience sniping at critical fans]]; and, more generally, an increase in wacky sitcom stories complete with broad humor, exaggerated characterizations, and over-the-top action scenes (not only that, but action scenes without either believable peril or compelling stakes). Most of these flaws were held in check and the seasons remain mostly solid, but it's clear that the faults ascribed to Mike Scully's tenure as showrunner (which began in Season Nine) were already present in abundance.

** The series' strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional FlashbackEpisode or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show in its earliest episodes since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast relatively small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show went along and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as sometimes hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was ''very'' much intentional) and with important recurring characters (Jasper, Lapis Lazuli and Lars in particular) who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite drastic) character development while they're off-screen. For instance Lapis goes from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamond Hit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend and even getting some ShipTease with her in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, and Lars [[TookALevelInBadass becoming more brave and competent]] to the point of stealing a Gem ship in-between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'', without the changes really explained or explored in any depth.

* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'': Princess Bubblegum's darker side was emphasized as early as Season 3, with her creation of Lemongrab being something akin to a MadScientist creation. It was well received, giving some more depth to her character. Later seasons, however, are criticised for taking this dark side and taking it to borderline sociopathic levels, with the "Bubblegum ranting at length to wizards why their belief in magic is stupid" scene being TheLastStraw for many.
** Later seasons thankfully try to fix this, with her having a HeelRealization thanks to Flame Princess calling her out. Season 7 even has her lose her position as Princess for a while to hammer it home, which causes her to break down in tears at one point at how much she's lost is by her own hand.

** When Tom and Jerry began appearing in {{crossover}} DirectToVideo movies in the late 2000's, such as with ''Theatre/TheNutcracker'' and Literature/SherlockHolmes, it was either accepted or ignored, because at least they still had some measure of originality. Eyebrows were raised when they crossed over with ''Literature/TheWizardOfOz'', but it being a public domain story that they at least attempted to do different things with (although heavily basing it on the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz 1939 film]]), it was largely excused. It finally seemed to cross a line with the release of ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryWillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', a shot-for-shot animated remake of the 1971 film adaptation with Tom and Jerry thrown in as an afterthought, sparking outrage and ridicule across the internet, mostly from people who didn't know these movies had been coming out for around a decade. It seems somewhere along the line Creator/WarnerBros figured they'd found a formula that enabled them to forgo creativity and originality in the Tom and Jerry direct-to-video movies yet still churn a profit, resulting in a steady decline of effort put into the writing.

** One of the show's favorite tactics since the earliest seasons has been to start off the first act with an unrelated plot (for instance, "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E9HomerBadman Homer Badman]]"'s first act is about Homer and Marge going to a candy convention). It worked then, because they always used the opening plot to lead into the main plot (Homer pulling a piece of candy off the babysitter's butt and getting sued for sexual harassment). As time goes on, though, the transitions between plots have become increasingly abrupt and threadbare, to the point that these first-act plots could probably be cut from the episode entirely, and are used as little more than padding because the main plot can't stand up on its own.

** The series' strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional FlashbackEpisode or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show in its earliest episodes since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast relatively small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show went along and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as sometimes hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was ''very'' much intentional) and with important recurring characters (Jasper, Lapis Lazuli and Lars in particular) who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite drastic) character development while they're off-screen. For instance, it's jarring to see Lapis going from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamond Hit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, or the previously selfish and cowardly Lars's transformation in to a heroic space pirate between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'' without the changes really explained or explored in any depth.

** The series' strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional FlashbackEpisode or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show in its earliest episodes since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast relatively small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show went along and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as sometimes hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was ''very'' much intentional) and with important recurring characters (Jasper, Lapis Lazuli and Lars in particular) who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite drastic) character development while they're off-screen. For instance, it's jarring to see Lapis going from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamondnHit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, or the previously selfish and cowardly Lars's transformation in to a heroic space pirate between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'' without the changes really explained or explored in any depth.

** The series' strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional FlashbackEpisode or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show in its earliest episodes since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast relatively small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show went along and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as sometimes hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was ''very'' much intentional) and with important recurring characters (Jasper, Lapis Lazuli and Lars in particular) who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite drastic) character development while they're off-screen. For instance, it's jarring to see Lapis going from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamondnHit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, or the previously selfish and cowardly Lars's transformation in to a heroic space pirate between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'' without the changes left largely to viewers' imagination.

** The series' strict focus on Steven's point-of-view, give or take the occasional FlashbackEpisode or ImagineSpot, rarely hurt the show in its earliest episodes since the world was relatively self-contained (Beach City, the Temple and the Gems' occasional missions), the core cast relatively small and it helped focus on Steven's personality and CharacterDevelopment. As the show went along and its universe expanded, this became more problematic, both in story terms (with mixed results, as sometimes hiding twists and character reveals from the audience was ''very'' much intentional) and with important recurring characters (Jasper, Lapis Lazuli and Lars in particular) who disappear for long stretches whenever they're not interacting with Steven, not allowing viewers to see their (often quite drastic) character development while they're off-screen. For instance, it's jarring to see Lapis going from barely tolerating Peridot in ''[[/Recap/StevenUniverseS3E4BarnMates Barn Mates]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E5HitTheDiamondnHit the Diamond]]'' to being her best friend in ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS3E21Beta Beta]]'' much later in the season, or the previously selfish and cowardly Lars's transformation in to a heroic space pirate between ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E4LarsHead Lars' Head]]'' and ''[[Recap/StevenUniverseS5E11LarsOfTheStars Lars of the Stars]]'' without the changes left largely to viewers' imagination.

** The blog Dead Homers Society [[https://deadhomersociety.com/zombiesimpsons/zs7/ argues]] that the show's decline began in earnest [[https://deadhomersociety.com/zombiesimpsons/zs8/ as early as Seasons 7-8]], still generally considered part of the show's GoldenAge. Due to several circumstances, from the show's popularity and simple exhaustion of fresh storylines to turnover on the writing staff and the death of voice actors Doris Grau and Phil Hartman, the show began more frequently incorporating the same hoary sitcom tropes and cliches that, until then, it generally eschewed or mocked. Examples cited include ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E11MargeBeNotProud Marge Be Not Proud]]'', a VerySpecialEpisode with more hamfisted emotion and character beats than similar, previous episodes; ''[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E4BurnsBabyBurns Burns, Baby, Burns]]'' which both incorporates a guest star (Creator/RodneyDangerfield, in this case) who is poorly integrated into the show's world and features an absurdly convoluted scheme by Homer to resolve the plot; ''[[ https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E14TheItchyAndScratchyAndPoochieShow The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show]]'', which began the writers' habit of [[TakeThatAudience sniping at critical fans]]; and, more generally, an increase in wacky sitcom stories complete with broad humor, exaggerated characterizations, and over-the-top action scenes (not only that, but action scenes without either believable peril or compelling stakes). Most of these flaws were held in check and the seasons remain mostly solid, but it's clear that the faults ascribed to Mike Scully's tenure as showrunner (which began in Season Nine) were already present in abundance.

** Pop culture references, including [[CutawayGag cutaway gags]] and [[WholePlotReference episode-length spoofs]], have been a staple of ''The Simpsons'' since its earliest seasons (eg. "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS1E5TheGeneral the General]]" riffing on ''Film/{{Patton}}'', "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E1KampKrusty Kamp Krusty]]" on ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E1StarkRavingDad Stark Raving Dad]]" on ''Film/OneFlewOverTheCuckoosNest'', etc.). Generally, though, earlier episodes tend to spoof classic movies and TV shows, where later episodes tend to parody [[WereStillRelevantDammit then-recent films or cultural trends]]. Which wouldn't ''necessarily'' be bad, except most such episodes wind up only [[ShallowParody spoofing a film/show's most obvious aspects]], and their subjects are far more likely [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece to become completely forgotten soon after]].

** WesternAnimation/BugsBunny was always supposed to be witty and resourceful one from the start without the extreme absurdity nor the over-the-top wackiness of WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck. This still didn't mean that Bugs had PlotArmor to carry the day after every short starring the character back in TheForties, but it was fairly established even then that he was smarter (at least where street-smarts concerned) than the average ''Looney Tunes'' character. Creator/ChuckJones took these features to their logical conclusion and added a Music/BingCrosby-esque ''sang froid'' element to Bugs Bunny in TheFifties, making his version the definitive one afterwards. Because of this, the studio has been reluctant to wander away from this take too much. But ever since, Bugs seems to be permanently stuck in lower quality iterations of the Chuck Jones version, making him often seem smug and petulant (the cover image in his [[WesternAnimation/BugsBunny trope page]] is his current default expression) while doing very little and allowing other characters to steal the spotlight.

** WesternAnimation/BugsBunny was always supposed to be witty and resourceful from the start without the extreme absurdity nor the over-the-top wackiness of WesternAnimation/DaffyDuck. This still didn't mean that Bugs had PlotArmor to carry the day after every short starring the character back in TheForties, but it was fairly established even then that he was smarter (at least where street-smarts concerned) than the average ''Looney Tunes'' character. Creator/ChuckJones took these features to their logical conclusion and added a Music/BingCrosby-esque ''sang froid'' element to Bugs Bunny in TheFifties, making his version the definitive one afterwards. Because of this, the studio has been reluctant to wander away from this take too much. But ever since, Bugs seems to be permanently stuck in lower quality iterations of the Chuck Jones version, making him often seem smug and petulant (the cover image in his [[WesternAnimation/BugsBunny trope page]] is his current default expression) while doing very little and allowing other characters to steal the spotlight.